Mac - 4 Years Old

Dear Mr. Macaroni,

Today you turn 4-years old and I don't even know how that's possible. The hands of time have swooped in and ever so subtlety, without me even realizing it, molded my tiny, squishy baby boy into a long and lean, brown-eyed, skinned-kneed handsome little man. At least ten times I day I look at you in total disbelief that (1) you're such a big kid; and (2) you're mine. How did I ever get so lucky?

I know I've cut back on how much detail I go into about you on the blog these days, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to put down into words exactly how amazing you are at this moment in time and just how crazy life in general is right now. 3.5 years to 4 has to be the most incredible, frustrating, hilarious, exhausting, silly, curious and dramatic age in the history of life. For me, every day with you is an adventure in parenting, an exercise in patience and a lesson in self-control. For you, every day is both the best and worst day of your life (sometimes within a span of mere minutes), another opportunity to drive your parents crazy and a personal challenge to eat more junk food than ever before. These days...what can I say? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

So much has changed over the past year and it's been such an adventure watching you learn, grow and explore. You've gotten taller over the last year, but you haven't really gained any weight - if that's even possible. You and Mim nearly weigh the same (33 pounds)! Your hair's still blonde and your eyes are still the most gorgeous dark brown I've ever seen (just like your dad's). You're smarter than I ever could have imagined and everyone that meets you remarks about just how bright you are and how much trouble we're in for. We know. You never forget anything ever ever ever and constantly amaze us by the connections you make and things you figure out just from listening and observing us. At the rate you're going, I swear you'll be smarter than both your parents within a year or two.

You've become so incredibly self-sufficient lately that I'm convinced any day you're going to to completely stop asking for my help. Assuming you're in the right mood, you dress yourself in the morning, you get your own snacks, fill your own water glass, go to the bathroom on your own and wash your hands, choose your own TV shows and buckle yourself in/out of your car seat (which we recently turned forward-facing). You can zip up your own coat, hang shirts on a hanger, put on your own gloves and unlock all the baby gates. Tying shoes and baiting your own hook are next on the list.

You're also becoming a very good helper around the house and with your little sister. You love helping your dad and I with grown-up "projects" like washing the dishes, vacuuming, mowing the grass, sweeping the garage and taking out the trash. But that's nothing new. More recently you've become really into being a big brother. You love showing Mim how to do things and doing things for her (even if she doesn't want you to). You boss her around and occasionally even want her around to play with if your dad and I are busy. You both love making each other laugh and seem to think you get bonus points if your dad and I get frustrated -which includes alternating with the most obnoxious high-pitched screams, simultaneously splashing all the water out of the tub, creating mud pies in the back yard or chasing each other around the circle in the kitchen screaming. You've learned that we have a harder time getting onto Mim about things, so if there's something you want or want to get away with, you encourage her to do. Devious. 

Next week, you finish your second year of nursery school. This year you went three times a week, for three hours a day. You’ll tell anyone that asks that you don’t like school or want to go, but I know you really liked it. Your teachers are wonderful and they think you are the bee’s knees. They tell me all the time what a good kid you are, what a leader you are and how polite you are. Sometimes I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same kid! Your best friend at school is a little girl named Mary Catherine. You talk about her all the time and call her your very best friend. MC’s mom said she was really nervous about starting school and being away from home for the first time, but you made the transition so easy for them and MC loves going to school to play with you. Your friendship is just the sweetest thing and your teachers tell me that you guys look out for each other and take care of each other. Makes me so proud. 

You've also been taking swim lessons for over a year now and recently moved up to the next "big boy" level. Again, you won’t admit that you like swim lessons, but you’re a fish in the water and beam with pride when you get praised for doing a good job. You go completely underwater, float on your back, dive down and pick up items off the bottom of the pool and swim through hoops. You love the pool and can't get enough, although you insist on wearing goggles. We signed you up for an intense 10-day swim camp this summer, which I'm a nervous wreck about. It's a full-day, drop-off at the door, eat lunch there, change clothes yourself kind of camp. I'm sure you'll do great once you get the hang of it and I think it'll really force you to be a bit more independent and grown-up, which simultaneously breaks my heart and makes me really proud. I’m pretty sure you’ll be fully swimming all by yourself by the end of the summer.

You’ve always been a daddy’s boy, but even moreso now that your dad has been traveling so much recently. You tolerate me when he’s gone (and are usually pretty well-behaved), but you miss him terribly and don’t want to leave his side for days when he gets back from each trip. He more than makes up his time away with special outings and adventures. The two of you are peas in a pod these days . He's taught you how to fly fish, which you're incredibly good at (and not just for a four year old - you're better than a lot of adults). You've also had the chance to go hunting a few times, to a couple baseball games, bowling and to the movies with your daddy. Camping and horseback-riding are on the list for this summer. 

Your little personality is so fierce and vibrant these days. You can be very sensitive and shy around strangers, but you warm up quickly and have no problems hanging out with and communicating to adults. You ask a million questions and really seem to contemplate my answers and then ask more/harder questions. You want to know how everything works and why everything is the way it is and how things got that way. It's both exhausting and fascinating. You never stop talking. You also never stop moving. I've never met a kid with more boundless energy. You wake up every morning and leap into our bed at full speed, ready to tackle both us and the day. You go hard, nonstop, full-throttle until we force you to settle down. You still take a quiet time every day, but only nap about once a week, which is unfortunate for us because the more tired you are, the more energy you have and the less you list...it's unreal. I miss your nap.

I'm not going to lie, three was a very hard year. It was amazing, but tough. I have a feeling that four is going to rock. I can already tell over the last two months there's been a shift in you - you're slightly less dramatic when you don't get your way, you're just a tiny bit more patient with us and every now and then you'll sit still for more than a minute or two to do something like play a game or put together a puzzle and I get a small glimpse of your intense concentration and excitement about learning. You're not quite ready for sitting still too long, so for now we're just going to keep you outside, running wild. Run wild my child. ;)

Love,
Your mama

Favorite songs:
- Thunderstruck by AC/DC
- Mud on the Tires by Brad Paisley
- L.A. Woman by The Doors

Favorite foods:
- candy
- cookies
- ice cream

Favorite clothing:
- sunglasses
- lightening bolt shirt
- anything camo

Strawberry Picking at Eckert's Country Farm

Last week, the kids and I headed over to Belleville, Illinois for some strawberry picking at Eckert's Country Farm. You may remember our strawberry picking adventure last year, where Mac ran through the fields like a wild animal and Mim slept the entire time. This year, both kids were really into strawberry picking and we had the best time! Mac was surprisingly focused on picking - scouting out the best rows and finding the biggest "monster" strawberries for his basket. Mim, on the other hand, was less into the picking and way more into the sampling. Every strawberry that Mac or I put in her basket, she ate...stem, leaves and all. I didn't realize she was eating the whole thing until I looked over and saw leaves sticking out of her mouth. And then she bit me when I tried to take them away from her. Oh well, they didn't seem to phase her a bit. 

The strawberries were absolute perfection this year (every year). There were so many big juicy red ones and they were melt in your mouth good. Fresh strawberries are so different than the hard ones you get at the grocery store and I remember being amazed last year by just how good they were. This year did not disappoint. The great thing about Eckert's is that they let you eat as many berries as you want in the fields and only charge you for what you pick and bring home. It probably would have bankrupt me if I had to pay for every berry that Mim ate that day, so I'm a big fan of that policy. They also have some type of plastic on the ground around the plant, so the strawberries you pick aren't covered in mud or dirty, which makes eating them even easier. We had a great time and Mac's already asking when we can go back for peaches and blueberries. 

Note to self for next year: don't let Mac pick out his own outfit and dress head-to-toe in camo. I can't tell you how many times I turned around to chase Mim and then couldn't find Mac. Camo really works. 

If you want to see what we did with our strawberries, head over to Savvy Sassy Moms to check out my post on homemade strawberry preserves. Trust me, they're so so so good and super easy to make and can, even if you've never canned before. 

Have you ever been strawberry picking with your kids?